FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT INFLATION - PAGE 4

NEW DELHI: Employees in India will see their salaries increase by an average of 10.9 per cent in 2015, the third highest pay rise in Asia after Pakistan and Vietnam, says an ECA International report. According to the latest Salary Trends survey by ECA International, the biggest pay rises in the region have been forecast in Pakistan where companies are anticipating 12 per cent rises on an average. For Indian employees the average hike has been forecast at 10.9 per cent. Although wage increases in India are among the highest in Asia, salaries would rise only 3.4 per cent on average next year if inflation is taken into account, "Nevertheless, with inflation expected to be slightly lower next year wages will increase more in real terms in 2015 than they did this year when they rose just 2.7 per cent above inflation," ECA International regional director for Asia, Lee Quane said.

NEW DELHI: Inflation rose to 5.91 per cent during the week ended April 23 as vegetables, fruits, edible oil, industrial fuel and manufactured products became costlier. After remaining static at 5.64 per cent during the week ended April 16, the wholesale price index (WPI) based inflation rose despite efforts by the RBI and government to keep prices stable. Inflation was at 4.32 per cent during the same period last year.

NEW DELHI: Even as inflation sniffed at the double-digit mark hitting 9.89 per cent in February, the finance ministry today expressed the hope that it will moderate in the next few months. "I would expect another month of inflation roughly like this because the base effect is going to be very strong... after that inflation should begin to die down," chief economic advisor Kaushik Basu told reporters here today. Baus was responding to the queries on inflation which rose to a 16-month high of 9.89 per cent in February, or the highest level since October 2008, driven mainly by high prices of food items, and petrol and diesel.

Many potential home loan borrowers are worried. The inflation monster has woken up again. Before elections the inflation rate was hovering around four percent. Last week the government figures put the inflation rate at 7.51 percent. Now the figure has climbed to 7.61 percent. And it may climb higher. Not much of a surprise. With the increase in petrol prices, duties, and taxes, a spiralling effect on prices was inevitable. The reasonably good monsoon in most parts of the country has brought some solace.

Uma Shashikant A few friends of mine came together to start a new venture. They set aside a corpus to provide for their families before chasing their dream. It seemed like a good idea and they did quite well in the first two years. However, they closed down abruptly a few days ago just as they were poised to take off. The reason: inflation. Their families simply could not cope with the rising prices and uncertainty of income to allow them their entrepreneurial indulgence. They were comfortable, upper middle-class households, which, one would assume, are not hurt by the rising prices of milk, eggs and fruits.

NEW DELHI: Inflation fell for the second consecutive week to 3.24 per cent for the week ended April 8 from 3.51 per cent in the previous week mainly due to cheaper food items including vegetables and wheat.

NEW DELHI: Government on Friday said the rise in inflation to 7.51 per cent was not a cause for worry and the advent of monsoon and an "appropriate" mix of policy will keep it under check. "With the arrival of monsoon and an appropriate mix of policy, inflation is expected to go down," chief economic advisor Ashok Lahiri told reporters here on Friday. However, Finance Minister P Chidambaram declined to comment on the rising inflation, which touched an over two-year high of 7.51 per cent for the week ended July 24. Planning Commission Deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia maintained that the high inflation was not a major problem as it was seasonal, and the price situation would improve with monsoon.

NEW DELHI: Inflation remained static at 7.1 per cent during the week ended October 16 despite rise in prices of fuel and manufactured products. The inflation based on Wholesale Price Index remained unchanged after declining for the previous three weeks. Inflation, which was 5.13 per cent a year ago, started sliding after a series of fiscal and monetary measures taken by government and the RBI. The WPI rose by 0.1 per cent to 188.6 points mainly due to rise in prices of fuel by 0.2 per cent and manufactured products by 0.1 per cent but primary articles were cheaper by 0.3 per cent.